September 8, Tuesday, 2020 (1:30 p.m.) Newsline

投稿日投稿者tomoyasu

  1. Three lawmakers who are vying to lead Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party are making final preparations for their campaigns which officially start on Tuesday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide has already picked up support from most of the party’s largest factions. Suga said, “as a politician who has supported Prime Minister Abe, I have thought long and hard about what needs to be done to allow people to get back to their peaceful daily lives as soon as possible.” LDP policy chief and former foreign minister Kishida Fumio met online with his supporters in Kobe. Kishida said, “I want to constitute an all-star team among members of the LDP, earn their cooperation, and make sure each one gets his chance to shine.” Former LDP secretary-general Ishiba Shigeru said, “I want to show what the LDP should be like, what Japan should be like. That’s what I’ll strive for with honesty and all my heart.”
  2. New figures from the Japanese government show that both wages and household spending fell in July from a year earlier amid a resurgence in the coronavirus pandemic. Labor ministry data show that average total wages were down 1.3 percent in yen terms from a year ago, to 3,480 dollars. It was the fourth straight monthly drop.
  3. One of the most powerful typhoons in decades has left a trail of destruction as it skirted the southwestern island of Kyushu. Weather officials warned days in advance about the size and strength of Typhoon Haishen and urged people to evacuate earlier than usual. But this year the evacuation procedures are more complicated than usual. People in Kyushu are no strangers to typhoons, and evacuation procedures are well rehearsed. But the spread of the coronavirus has added an extra challenge this year.  With people trying to maintain social distancing in evacuation shelters, the facilities filled up faster than usual.